Official SONOS owners thread - Page 22

Sorry about having let my frustrations leak thru in the above.
After 3 efforts with Sonos tech support (including an unsuccessful factory reset) >> the above now has a happy ending
Last night I was working with Mike in tech support, and he suggested that rather than monitoring the association from my older CR100 remote >> lets monitor the "associate process" via my Sonos PC interface. This time it worked (we are suspicious that one of my older CR100 remotes may have had a hiccup - or may have somehow even contributed to the root cause?). My faith in SONOS has been restored - THANK YOU to Mike in Tech support!!!

Another very very satisfied Sonos owener here. We originally purchased a ZP90 to connect to our exsisting HTIB in our living room. A bridge is connected to our router in the office, and a PLAY3 is in our master bedroom. The other day while I was painting our future home media/game room I simply moved the PLAY 3 into that room and BOOM, music!

I have to say the addition of being able to stream music from your IPHONE/IPAD apple device is fantastic. Nothing like being up on top of a ladder and choosing a song. The one drawback is when i'm on top of said ladder and my wife decides to mess with me by changing the music from her computer to some Chris Brown song.

Once the media/game room is completed I will certainly be adding another ZP90 to link it into the network.

Potential Sonos owner here, I have a couple of questions if anyone can answer them it would be great appreciated.

I plan to setup this system at a vacation home, up to 4 music zones.


1. There is no internet at the vacation home (eg. DSL, Cable etc). I plan to setup a wireless network using a router to allow the Sonos to communicate between the zones, but of course no regular internet access. Any issue with this?


2. When we do arrive at the cabin, we have our iPhones which have access to the internet. We currently stream internet radio from our iPhone App to the existing stereo. Will iPhone Apps like TuneinRadio and Sirius play through the Sonos system directly from my iPhone? I'm aware that some of the Sonos components have built in internet radio, but the only access to the internet will be directly from my iPhone so it's important that TuneinRadio controlled from the iphone works on the system.


Many thanks,
Detox

I'm 90% sure you need Internet access to communicate between zones. You can not stream data from you iPhone to the sonos system. As much as I would like to tell you otherwise, sonos will not work without web access..

Yep, no Internet, no workie

You need Internet to do updates but once things are set up you should be able to have a working system without it.There are threads in the Sonos forums about how to do this.... The iPhone can act as a music source for the Sonos as of recently. An Android phone will need a DNLA app (like Skifta) to work as a music source. So set things up at home, once you've got things working like you want pack it all up and take it to the cabin...

Best Buy is running a special on the Sonos Play 5 for $299 ($100 off) for anyone thats interested.
Tim

Thanks for the heads up. I went and picked one up, but the experience was a bit weird. Said it was a price mistake and that Magnolia was matching, but the BB store itself was not. So the Magnolia rep rang me up, although wasn't able to give me the free Bridge as well. That's fine since I don't really need it and was more pleased to get a P5 at such a good price.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm debating between this and a Jawbone Jambox for the bedroom. Was this advertised or does it just ring up.

It was an online price mistake. You missed it by a couple days.

it was actually in the weekly print advert too.

Hi All,
Yet another satisfied SONOS new end user!


I recently retired a 10 year old Russound system. 12 zones (two Cav 6.6); six sources including dual XM tuner, AM/FM Tuner, Three stream Russound 250GB server. Russound 6 zone Amp. All rack mounted in Basement. Contolled by wall mounted devices in each room.

Kept the 6 zone amp. Kept the wall and ceilling speakers.

Have been purchasing CONNECT 's. **Work flawlessly ** Well thought out.
Music Sourcing: home NAS (all files Apple Lossless), Spotify , Sirius
Control using IOS devices

Questions, Sorry if this has already been covered....
1. Surprised there are no multi channel CONNECT devices. Not a good setup in rack. Are there any mounting alternatves out there?
2. Need to purchase another multi channel amp, any recomendations?

Thanks!

ps I look forward to watching this thread
Edited by martinw - 1/17/13 at 6:53pm

New Connect owner here - both in love with it and want to run away from it.

First the love - coolest device I've installed in a while and does all I want it to for internet radio and music off my iThings and NAS. The iPhone interface is a life changing experience - I compare it to my first DVR and how that changed TV watching forever. All great!

Why I want to run: the sound quality is extremely disappointing. I just can't listen to it for long. Very compressed dynamic range, thin at bottom and the top, Huge loss of musical detail across the board. Is it just me?

At first I connected the Connect to my every-day family room system. A mid range Denon processor which does a fine job for that room and for the family. I started with just the analog connection and didn't love the sound, then tried the optical connection, then the coax digital. I really hoped the DAC in the Denon would clean up the sound. In fact I had all three connected to different inputs at once and could easily flip between them. Sadly I hardly heard any difference at all and was still disappointed. Am I missing some sort of setting that will help me?

Next I connected it to my HT setup which has a McIntosh processor and amps. This system inherently sounds a lot better than the family room, so that was a plus for the Sonos, but still not good enough. I really thought the McIntosh DAC would make me smile. Well, not quite.

So now I'm stuck - I really love the device and want it to work, but without better sound I'll have to return it and look for something with better sound quality but probably an inferior interface.

All advice welcome!

Thanks,

JR

So the question becomes: what are you using as a source? If it's Internet Radio or MP3's you're basically dealing with Garbage In = Garbage Out. Rip your own lossless FLAC or ALAC and all will be well once more (no matter which DAC you use).

Even rips at 256kbps should sound pretty damn good. I agree it isn't the device.

I don't have software or controller in front of me, but there is a checkbox some for playback as compressed. I believe mine was checked by default. It's possible yours is checked.

Thanks all,

I've tried every kind of source. Even tracks off my iPhone that I know are recorded in the Apple lossless format (ALAC) are not impressive. Also true if played from my NAS or my PC.

I don't agree that internet radio is necessarily garbage in. I've heard other systems where it can sound very very good. In fact my PC does a better job than the Sonus. I use a USB output to a small USB DAC that converts to an analog signal with RCA jacks. When I plug that into my Denon and listen to internet radio it gets impressive sound (and yes, always comparing the same stations on each device). Except for the buffer delay on the internet radio I can switch from the regular FM tuner signal to the PC streamed signal and at times the PC sounds better - much to my surprise that that could ever happen.

I just went through all the settings menus and found the compression choices - but they only relate to the line input not the network input, so no help there.

Can anyone tell me their Sonos Connect sounds fantastic? If so, and with all my different attempts to get it right but failed, maybe I have a bad unit. Is there any history of that happening? (I apologize that I have not read all 22 pages of this thread!)

JR

I've never heard of any problems, nor have I had any (at least of that kind) and I've got 3 of them around the house. The fact that you had problems with the digital output into some other decoding suggests it's not the Sonos that is the problem. With any reasonable source (ie; you're not using a PC inside a microwave) you're just feeding a pretty much jitter free bitstream out of the Sonos into whatever DAC you're using. Maybe something else is set up strangely downstream?

Thanks for the response but I think you misunderstood me. I used the same configuration of the Sonos attached to my family room system, and then again to my HT system, getting the same poor sound quality on both. This tells me it's the Sonos, not either system, or anything downstream. Another thought came to me: doing a simple and dirty connection using the headphone output on my iPhone to aux RCA inputs on my family room system, and then streaming an FM station on the iPhone sounds better than the Sonos playing the same station into the same aux inputs. That's seriously wrong. Maybe I just have a lemon?

Yeah, but I believe you also said you heard the same problems through the digital outputs and the analog? If you're getting a digital output it can't be that screwed up or no DAC downstream would be able to decode it. One thing to check is setting the output to fixed (no volume control via Sonos), which means you get the unaltered bit stream straight through the Sonos. If that still sounds screwy I don't know what's going on, but if it fixes things then you would seem to have a lemon some how...

Just received an email on PlayBar.

Looks interesting and more practical than the SUB.

Bottom picture on page suggests 5.1 capability with SUB and paired Play units.

However, with only an optical I assume it would be relying on optical passthrough from the TV?

http://www.sonos.com/mobile/introducing/playbar?lang=en-us&region=us&utm_source=2013playbar-announce-USc&utm_medium=email&utm_content=big-red-button-USc&utm_campaign=2013%2bPLAYBAR

That's my understanding...

Another extremely new and happy owner here too!!

We moved into a three story house about 7 years ago. One of the first things we did was buy a Russound whole house audio system - the CAA66. While we had in-celing/in-wall speakers wired to our four bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, deck, office, master bedroom, bath, upper hall and basement, the system only accommodated up to 6 zones - so we only had actual music in the Master bed/bath, upper hall, kitchen, dining room and deck. We really liked the system a lot but as time progressed and other systems came to market, we began to realize the limitations of our system, i.e., no party mode, no keypad metadata, lcd 5 font keypad instead of color, no built in sources, etc.

Recently, I got the itch to upgrade the system and try something a little more up to date. I basically debated between Russound's newest models (MCA-C5) v. those made my Nuvo (Grand Concerto). However, I still found Russound's newest technology pretty limited. As for Nuvo, their product was cost prohibitive for my needs. So I just figured I'd wait and be patient until something more suitable came along. As for Sonos, I never really considered it because I thought it was exclusively a wireless system, not made for those with existing speakers/wiring.

Fast-forward to about a month ago, while perusing my local Bestbuy, I came across a wired Sonos setup in their Magnolia section that led to some additional internet research and the realization that Sonos made their Connect Amp product specifically for setups like mine. I had been holding on to a Geek Squad $100 coupon, towards the purchase of a home theater product $499 and above, that I was given for an in home, home theater consultation - and early this week, decided to use it towards the purchase of one Connect Amp unit to see if it would fit my needs, etc.

I bought the unit, got it home, and literally had the unit up and running within 10 minutes of unboxing, and immediately new that this would be my next system. It is so easy to connect, the user interface on iphone and ipad are incredible, the sound quality is great (more power than my Russound system), it has all the features my Russound system lacked, and on and on and on! There was literally nothing I could find to complain about regarding the system. However, because each unit is $499, I knew it would be a while before I was able to buy all the units I would need for my decided 8-9 zones (Master bed, bath, upper hall (undecided on this one), son's room, office, kitchen, dining room, deck and basement).

There are approximately 5 Bestbuy stores in the area between my home city and the city where I work (50-mile commute ). So I decided to explore these stores just to gain more knowledge from different customer service reps about Sonos and also to further familiarize myself with the Sonos setups (and without having employees who had previously talked to me about the product harass me about whether I was ready to buy). :]

Yesterday, I had a half day at work and decided to go to the 5th Bestbuy store to tinker with their setup. As I approach the Sonos section, I am looking at the boxes on the shelves and on the bottom shelf, I see what appears to be Bestbuy's open box sticker on a Connect Amp priced at $349! I immediately grab the unit, determine that it is a Connect Amp, and know I am buying it at that price! (I happen to have a Bestbuy credit card with a very, very low balance and plenty of room to shop.) I think to myself, if there is one, maybe there is another somewhere buried on the shelf. I look a little closer and low and behold, I notice another Connect Amp with another open box sticker - but this unit is marked $289! Of course, I grab that one too!! As you can imagine, boy am I tickled pink about this possibility!!!

I rush to find a customer service rep with both boxes in hand asking him nervously if the prices were correct and if anything was wrong with either unit. He immediately assured me that the prices were correct and that the units were fine. I told him I wanted both. He takes me to the cash register to check me out and takes out a key to start cutting the tape to open the box. One box had been taped as if it had been purchased and returned and additional tape had been added. The other box only had the standard Sonos tape. As he is cutting the tape, I ask him what he is doing and he says he wants to make sure everything is in there. I keep silent at this point but I really wanted to open the box for myself once I arrived home.

He cuts the tape, opens the box and says, this unit hasn't even been opened. The plastic bag holding the unit was still factory sealed! What a score! He didn't open the second box. So I ask, why is one $349 and the other $289? He says he doesn't know but that he can give me either one for $289. I ask, what do you mean? He says whichever you want I can give it to you for $289. I say ok, I'll take both of them for $289. He says great! I just need to get a manager's override. He goes, gets the manager, and gets the override. I'm strolling to the car with two Connect Amps in hand for $606, tax included!!

I get home, connect both units to my first Connect Amp and both work flawlessly and I fall further in love with this product!! At this point, I have my master bed and bath and kitchen connected. So within a week, I've gone from drooling over this product to actually buying three units for the cost of two!! So excited but a long road ahead of me as I still need 5-6 additional units. Now, I find myself on Ebay trying to score another great deal on another unit. So far, the going prices have been more than I'm willing to spend but I'll keep searching and remain patient as I know my next deal is only a stone's throw away.....

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to share my experience with this product. If you are in doubt about Sonos be assured that the great reviews you read about it EVERYWHERE are very true and accurate and not overstated. It is an amazing product and if you give it a shot you will not be disappointed!!


Cheers photo.JPG 101k .JPG file

Congrats! Glad you like them. I scored my first Play5 through an open box deal as well. Suggest you keep any eye out on the Amazon warehouse deals.

Thanks!! I'm sure you're satisfied with your Play5s! If I hadn't already invested in the speakers and wiring that's what I would have gotten. How do check the Amazon deals?? Is it the regular Amazon website?

********UPDATE WITH RESOLUTION********

Delete Kaspersky, reboot, complete successful setup of Sonos Controller, reinstall Kaspersky, reboot.

Problem Solved.

Sonos support said that they are having many issues with Kaspersky on Window's 8, and are trying to work with Kaspersky to generate a more user-friendly resolution.
*******************************************************************************

Hi,

I'm having a little bit of a challenge.

I've had my Sonos system up and running fine for about a year.

I have a play:3, play:5, and a bridge.

I have a controller on my laptop (WIN 7) and a controller on my android phone.

System has worked fine, and is always up to date.

Today I got a new computer - WIN 8.

After getting the "all-in-one" computer up and running, I started adding my applications to it.

When I downloaded the controller, it goes through set-up and doesn't find anything.... Except it does - because when it is in the "2 minute search", as soon as I push the pair button on the bridge or one of the play's, it goes into "Completing setup". Only then it comes up with a message saying your Sonos component was not found after about 45 seconds.

When I go into into "my computer", I even see my play3 and 5 there.

I've power-cycled the bridge, no help, I've power-cycled the wifi router, no help.

I've repeated the process a dozen times. If I don't ask any of them to pair, the component setup screen will sit there for the 2 minutes searching, within 5 seconds of pushing the pair button on any one of them it quickly goes to completing setup then says nothing found.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Ron

PS - I use Kaspersky Internet Security 2013. I've used the configurations found on Sonos's website for firewall settings in regards to Kaspersky2013.

PPS - My Sonos system works fine from my old computer and android.

PPPS - I use the same Kaspersky on the old laptop, and I didn't need to make any of the firewall changes on that machine when I first set my system up.
Edited by schonr - 2/25/13 at 1:59pm

It sounds like things worked out for you, but your situation sounds very fishy. I've had discussions with a few different stores in my area, and they all told me they're under very strict directions from Sonos not to sell opened-box items.

When I got my Connect box, I didn't realize until I was out of the store that the had been opened. The Magnolia employee that rang me up took it off the shelf, scanned it, and put it in a bag without me ever touching it or really even looking at it until I got to my car. I didn't particularly care as long as it worked, so I brought it home and set it up. The problem was that it didn't work. I tried over and over again, thinking I must be doing something wrong, but I just couldn't get it to connect to my pre-existing Bridge. It wouldn't connect hardwired either. By the time I exhausted all options the Best Buy store was closed.

The next day I brought it back in to exchange it. During the exchange the customer service rep noticed the serial number on the box didn't match the serial number on the unit. At first they told me they wouldn't do the return, since they assured me they wouldn't have sold an open box. They didn't quite go so far as to accuse me of trying to scam them, but that was the implication. When I didn't back down they quickly did, and I think they honestly believed my story at that point. So, after about 45 minutes and 3 levels of management approvals, I got my exchange.

Looking back, I'm pretty sure the kid that sold me the Sonos was probably the one scamming Best Buy.

I bought my Play:5 from Best Buy on an open box deal, with a price slash of $120.

I currently own a Play 5, Play 3 and a sonos bridge. I own a few hundred CDs I'l like to rip them to a NAS device...my current setup has the bridge connected to the PC and I want to change that. I've read online that the WD My Book Live (2TB) works well....but before I order one I'd like to confirm it here. Is this a decent NAS or is there something else? I want to keep it simple and also have access to it via my ipad. Also, what program would I use to rip my CDs to the NAS device?

Thanks.

I don't have any experience with that NAS, but many seem to like it. I use dBPoweramp for ripping.